Add your comment with a link to the image. Maybe say why it made such an impact. It can be personal, of global consequence or, well, you choose . . .
UPDATE: A review of contributions appears as a Guest Blog at IMPERICA: http://www.imperica.com/viewsreviews/gary-day-ellison-images-of-2011
You don’t so much commission Ralph Steadman as unleash him. The art direction is implicit in the decision to ask him for artwork. He is a force of nature. His acceptance of a commission is de facto an endorsement of a project – that adds value beyond even the illustration itself. And I send my best wishes to the lame art director who tells him what, and how to draw. Actually no I don’t send best wishes. They would be foolish. But I may send flowers as commiseration.
Testing with a link: http://gdestuff.posterous.com/a-bit-of-rough
Has to be the final moments for Gaddafi – how the mighty fall.
2011 has been a year where friendship has mattered more than ever before, for good times, for bad times and for all times. No single photo can sum up the many times friends have been there, but it is always the unexpected wee things that make the biggest impact – like finding a homemade card waiting for you just for letting a mate stay over. My image is here: http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwcvbzTHwK1qcusl1o1_500.png
Ghaddafi, interesting choice Ms Cred!
Love that personal touch Mark!
http://www.bcs.org/upload/img/hold-beliefs-lightly.jpgGrayson Perry at the British Museum was a bit of a revelation for me, a really important exhibition that will stay with me for a long time. This particular image made me smile but its message also resonates deeply. If we could all learn to be less obsessive about finding meaning in everything and stop taking our own opinions so seriously, perhaps we’d all enjoy life a little more.
Such a strong image from a year of demonstration, protest and revolution. The 84 year old woman who was pepper sprayed at Occupy Seattle.http://t.co/qF0DSmz
Amazing, surprising choice Harry. With a good take on it’s value too. Yhank you for sharing!
Strong image ian. It brings shame on our species that such images are perennial.
My image is one that reminds me of how important friendship is, and to treasure special periods in your life when you are surrounded by friends every single day. Having moved to a different part of the country, it was lovely to see this picture of ex work colleagues, and to still be included myself. I’m looking forward to seeing them all over Christmas.http://www.flickr.com/photos/66858416@N02/6537718599/in/photostream
Aaah! Another friendship theme. Something that might just see us through these difficult times?
Any of the tsunami photos where boats are on houses or roads. Many videos and photos of this huge tragedy really stayed with me.
Of course I meant to say Japanese tsunami. Here’s an example http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/8390718/Japan-eart…
Massive event with awesome images, Pedro. Must say the clean up images are testament to the Japanese spirit.
This image is from the media140 event in Bristol in 2010, but its impact was not felt until this year.You, I and many others whom we know were there, and I’d spent most of the Saturday (two days) before this event with Trey Pennington. However, this was not the last time that I met up with him: we spent some time together this year in Cardiff, thanks to the generosity of Allan Blair Beaton and Dickie Armour, at the What’s Next event where he gave us each a bandana (which I wore in his memory when delivering my presentation at Like Minds this year, a conference that he initiated).Nevertheless, this image is the one that captures for me the friendly and respectful relationship we all had with him. I miss him every time I use Twitter … perhaps we all do.https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150367821529363&set=a.1015036781504…
A respectful and salutary tribute to Trey Pennington John. And again the theme of friendship is in the list. Friendship & Disaster, what does that say?
I had no intention of using my own photo, but I’ve spent two days thinking about this and whilst many of the images from the Occupy Protests were shocking, I couldn’t think of one particular one that stood out – they all carried a strong message – our so called peace-keepers are in reality ‘violent suppressors’. Then there’s the Red Cross’s a year in pictures but again, not one really stood out – may be I’m becoming immune to attrocity, emergency and disaster? So for me, its got to be this – representing youth, innocence, family, closeness – drawing together in times of trouble or vulnerabilityhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/artsmonkey/6299668998/in/set-72157628038290449
Ha! Love it Juliet.
Hi Gary!:) There are a couple pictures that stand out to me, the tsunami disaster has to top the list for 2011. I love some of the picutes my friends put up of their pictures and families, they are just so precious.:) I have to say the ones that have the most impact are from a lady I follow who is homeless and does her best to help out others in the same situation. Those have actually inspired me to help and do something about homelessness.
Do you have photo of her Crystal? Great to celebrate her.
I just noticed everybody else is putting up photos. This is one of her daughter reading to Gandalf, a homeless Marine Vet who has stage 4 cancer. .http://careyfuller.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Maggie-reading-book-to-Gandalf.jpg
http://careyfuller.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Maggie-reading-book-to…
Why do I ever open my mouth and complain about anything? http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/pictures/110315-nuclear-react….jpg
Bless young Carey Fuller, Crystal (hope that not the photographer’s name)
Hearts go out to Japanese people Phillippa. Unimaginable.
Well Gary, you challenged me so here it is. I have done this a little backwards and thought about the ideas that have had the most impact on me as a person this year, and which image can sum this up. Although it’s kind of cheating, because its an image of text. Does it still count?http://worldforsale.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/chucl.jpgAnyway, it is disgusting how consumed we are as a society by the idea of money and object as happiness. We work to buy products made by workers suffering on the other side of the world because we feel like we deserve it, because we’ve worked for it. Then we give a little to charity to make ourselves feel better, even though we know most of it doesn’t even get where we want it to. Its a cycle that will continue for as long as money exists.Every day I am sickened by people around, physically unhealthy people who have something lacking in their life and so cover it up with fake nails fake hair heaps of makeup and hundreds of pounds worth of clothes stuffed into their shopping bags. We are blindly hurting ourselves and other people, and that’s it.On a lighter note, this is what I’d choose as an inspirational image. Insanely amazing books that have been one of my favourite parts of this year, and an incredible illustration that makes it feel real.http://www.philmcdarby.com/index.php/digital_art/detail/luring_the_draccus/
Great stuff Claire. Plymouth students rock! Well done for sticking with it to beat the turbulent Posterous issues.I love your two-fold answer and explaining your resons so clearly. A typographic image? Well, after our project earlier this year I can only applaud.Wonder if your classmates will respond as well?
I’ve chosen to post my own photographs because world events of 2011 are so well documented already. I got to travel a fair bit in 2011 and many moments have had huge impact on me. I have chosen these images as a sort of summary, like the essence of my world over 2011. http://nommieworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/images-from-2011.html
Thank you for some very striking images Naomi.
Great post Gary – some fab examples of the different kinds of image that can have meaning and impact.As someone who has looked at images of every kind almost every day I’m kind of at a loss to pick one, so I shall cheat and post a link to a page of photographs that I found to be exceptionally beautiful. This was one of the first pages of images I found through Twitter which I like for that reason as well as teh images themselves. http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1ncUp6/blog.pokkisam.com/content/just-another-b…All the best for 2012!
That’s one huge selection rather than one image! Some great photographs there. If you could only have one, Dean?
If I had to pick one it’d probably be this http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/dhaka-…Something we would never see in the UK, partly because of our wealth but also our health and safety regulations, and our somewhat over-preciousness about our own well being… if that makes sense?
Fab! I’ll make a Picture Editor of you yet. Like your reason for the choice too. Thank you.
Re-posted, now with correct link! Sorry about that…Tricky one – so many amazing images… However, I will give you two photos I have taken myself:My first image, the ‘global’ one, stands for what has been referred to as the ‘Arab Spring’. Change, the end of dictatorships, new government formations – in various countries and for various reasons. The image I would have like to include here is the front cover of The Times with their fab photos of “The Protestor”. Now THAT is a good image. As it happens, I give you my photo from Covent Garden instead:http://www.flickr.com/photos/britt_w/5752223078/in/photostreamThe other one is of my mum, during a little zimmer-framed walk we did last summer, in Sweden. Suffering from Alzheimer’s at the age of 90, she now lives in a dementure home. She is well taken care of there and is happy most of the time. However, she still says she wants to ‘go back home’. However, when passing her old home – she does not want to go there. ‘Home’ for her is rather the time before she had Alzheimer’s, the time everything was… normal. Her well-being – and indeed non-well-being – has affected me a lot the last year and still does. This photo will have to be my personal one:http://www.flickr.com/photos/britt_w/6007056818/
The glimpse of the first shot is great.The second gentle and poignant. Thanks for sharing Britt.